Order  op  Exercises 


DEDICATION 


SPEAR  . LIBRARY, 


OBERLIN,  OHIO, 


Monday,  Nov.  2,  1885. 


BOSTON : 

PRESS  OF  DELAND  & BARTA, 
54  Pearl  Street. 

1885. 





Order  of  Exercises 


AT  THE 


DEDICATION 


OBERLIN,  OHIO. 


Monday,  Nov.  2,  1885. 


BOSTON:  • 

PRESS  OF  DELAND  & BARTA, 
54  Pearl  Street. 

1885. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/orderofexercisesOOfros 


0\rvLY- 


iDeflicatian  oi[  ^peai|  liifii|ai|y. 


fHIS  elegant  building,  erected  with  funds  donated  by  Rev.  Charles 
V.  Spear,  of  Holbrook,  Mass.,  worthily  supplying  an  urgent  need 
for  the  library  and  temporarily  also  for  the  Natural  History  collec- 
tion of  Oberlin  College,  was  dedicated  with  appropriate  and  interesting 
services  in  the  presence  of  a large  audience  of  students  and  citizens, 
on  Monday,  November  2d. 

The  building  stands  in  a conspicuous  place  in  the  College  Park,  near 
North  Main  Street,  facing  south,  and  in  style  and  ornamentation  differs  from 
all  other  previously  erected  college  buildings.  The  main  library  and  read- 
ing-room, in  which  the  exercises  were  held,  is  well  lighted,  airy,  and  taste- 
fully decorated,  and  had  just  received  its  chief  adornment.  This  is  the 
beautiful  life-sized  statue  of  the  “ Reading  Girl,”  donated  to  the  College  by 
Mr.  Aaron  Healy  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

The  addresses  of  the  dedication  exercises,  which  are  presented  some- 
what abbreviated  in  .the  following  pages,  give  some  account  of  the  origin  of 
the  gift,  a good  description  of  the  building  itself,  a brief  plea  for  the 
general  use  of  the  library  by  the  citizens,  the  presentation  of  the  statue  by 
Prof.  Currier,  and  an  able  oration  by  Prof.  W.  G.  Frost.  They  are  ad- 
mirably fitted  to  call  the  attention  of  the  friends  of  the  College  to  what  is 
now  its  greatest  need,  the  enlargement  of  its  library. 

It  is  a happy  omen  for  the  success  of  any  appeal  that  may  be  made  in 
this  behalf,  that  since  the  dedication  of  the  building,  its  donor  has  pro- 
posed to  provide  from  the  future  sale  of  the  Maplewood  Institute*  property, 
a deed  of  which  has  been  given  to  the  College,  a fund  to  be  called,  in  honor 
of  his  deceased  wife,  “ The  Holbrook  Library  Fund,”  the  annual  income 
of  which  shall  go  to  the  increase  of  the  library.  The  amount  of  this  fund 
is,  however,  uncertain,  and  it  will  probably  not  become  available  for  several 
years. 

* Maplewood  Institute  of  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  leading  schools  for  young  ladies 
in  New  England.  Its  graduates  and  former  pupils  are  holding  posts  of  honor  and  influence  in  this  country 
and  in  various  foreign  mission  fields.  The  property  brings  with  it  hallowed  associations  and  sacred  sympathies 
which  may  well  move  every  child  of  Oberlin  to  snecial  effort  and  sacrifice  in  connection  with  Professor 
Frost’s  present  labors  for  the  increase  ot  the  Library.- 


4 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY, 


Sungnamme  tf^e  J}xEitcises  was  as  follows : 

Music — Chorus  from  the  Conservatory,  led  by  Prof.  F.  B.  Rice,  Miss 
Wattles,  pianist. 

Address — The  Gift,  Prof.  A.  A.  Wright. 

Statement  of  the  Building  Committee,  by  Prof.  J.  M.  Ellis. 

Response  by  the  Donor,  Rev.  C.  V.  Spear. 

Presentation  of  the  Statue  of  the  Reading  Girl,  by  Prof.  A.  H.  Currier. 

Address  by  Prof.  W.  G.  Frost. 

Dedicatory  Prayer  — President  J.  H.  Fairchild. 

Music — Choir. 

Benediction,  by  President  Fairchild. 

iAclflitess  % Rttol.  $?nigf|t. 

Mr.  President , Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

We  are  gathered  to-day  to  open  and  consecrate  to  its  future  uses  this 
beautiful  building.  For  months  you  have  been  watching  its  progress,  as  it 
arose  from  the  earth,  unfolding  one  fair  feature  after  another,  until  to-day  it 
stands  completed.  As  we  enter,  and  take  possession,  it  is  fitting  that  our 
first  expression  should  be  one  of  appreciation  of  the  generosity  of  our 
benefactor  who  has  furnished  the  means  for  its  erection,  and  of  the  circum- 
stances attendant  upon  the  gift.  If  I were  to  attempt  a complete  history 
of  the  matter,  I should  allude  to  providential  circumstances,  some  of  them 
far  back  in  time  — to  the  generous  Christian  nurture  which  our  friend 
received  from  his  parents  ; to  the  hard-earned  money  with  which  he  helped 
himself  through  Amherst  College  ; to  his  excellent  scholarship  while  there  ; 
to  his  faithful  spirit  as  a minister  of  the  gospel ; to  his  successful  work  of 
over  thirty  years  at  Maplewood  Institute,  a seminary  of  learning  for  young 
women  at  Pittsfield,  Mass.;  to  the  assistance,  in  all  these  labors,  of  his 
beloved  wife  who  has  gone  to  her  rest.  And  we  may  recall  also  the  fact 
that  his  sister-in-law,  Miss  Mary  W.  Holbrook,  contributed  the  full  endow- 
ment for  the  chair  of  Homiletics  in  our  Seminary,  which  was  filled  at  that 
time  by  Professor  Mead.  . 

During  the  year,  while  the  erection  of  the  building  was  going  forward, 
it  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  thrown  into  most  intimate  association  with  Mr. 
Spear.  We  were  travelling  together  in  foreign  lands,  and  many  were  the 
times  when  our  thoughts  and  our  conversation  turned  toward  the  spot  where 
we  are  now  assembled. 

Our  interest  in  this  home  enterprise  led  us  to  visit  many  of  the  impor- 
tant libraries  that  came  in  our  way,  to  study  their  development  and 
management,  and  to  note  their  contents.  We  tested  their  value  upon  a 
single  point  at  Strasburg,  where  we  desired  to  learn  certain  details  of  the 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY. 


life  of  John  Frederic  Oberlin,  after  whom  this  town  and  College  were 
named.  Accordingly  we  called  for  all  the  literature  they  had  concerning 
him  in  the  University  library;  and  found  that  there  were  no  less  than  25 
books  and  pamphlets,  which  included  nearly  everything  that  ever  had  been 
published  upon  the  subject  in  German,  French,  or  English. 

By  our  continued  interchange  of  thought  upon  these  subjects,  I came  to 
know,  perhaps  as  well  as  anyone  here  present,  the  earnestness  of  my 
companion’s  desire  that  his  gift  should  tell  upon  the  scholarship  and  equip- 
ment of  all  who  come  here  to  study.  It  does  not  stop  with  any  satisfaction, 
however  great,  at  the  furnishing  of  an  excellent  house.  It  comes  from  a 
deep  purpose  born  of  a truly  benevolent  and  self-denying  spirit,  to  assist  in 
the  work  of  Christian  education  to  which  the  whole  efforts  of  the  College 
are  directed ; and  this  friendship  and  sympathy  are  worth  more  to  us  than 
the  building  itself.  His  valuable  gifts  of  books  upon  art  and  science  and 
theology,  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  acknowledge;  and  he  has  now 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  how  one  good  thing  prepares  the  way  for  another 
in  the  statue  of  the  Reading  Girl  which  is  to  be  presented  here  to-day. 

We  trust,  and  believe,  that  he  will  yet  see  with  his  own  eyes  the  rapid 
gathering  of  literary  treasures  into  this  storehouse  during  many  years  which 
are  to  come. 

depart  oi[  tlje  Building  Committee  Iiy  i^His. 

The  announcement  by  Mr.  Spear,  in  the  spring  of  1884,  that  he  was 
ready  to  furnish  $25,000  for  a library  building,  opened  the  way  to  meet  the 
most  pressing  need  of  the  College.  After  consultation  it  was  decided  to 
arrange  also  for  the  present  accommodation  of  the  cabinet,  and  the  teach- 
ing and  the  work  connected  with  it,  in  the  library  building.  Mr.  Spear  and 
Prof.  C.  G.  Fairchild  at  once  commenced  to  devise  a plan  for  such  a 
building.  They  visited  the  principal  libraries  of  the  country,  talked  and 
corresponded  with  experienced  librarians,  and  considered  what  was  the  most 
complete  and  commodious  provision  that  could  be  secured  for  the  sum 
offered.  Mr.  F.  O.  Weary,  of  Akron,  O.,  was  employed  as  architect,  and 
Messrs.  Parker  & Kinney  of  Norwalk  as  builders.  The  ceremony  of  the 
laying  of  the  corner-stone  took  place  Oct.  6th,  1884,  with  an  address  by  Prof. 
C.  G.  Fairchild,  and  closing  with  an  allusion  to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Spear  was 
across  the  water  in  search  of  health,  and  with  the  hope  that  he  might  be 
present  and  share  in  the  services  of  the  dedication,  which  hope  we  are 
glad  to  know  is  fulfilled  to-day. 

The  building  is  constructed  so  as  to  be  safe  from  lire.  All  timbers  and 
joists  and  rafters  and  roof-boards  are  covered  with  a coat  either  of  plaster 


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DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY. 


or  asbestos.  The  floors  are  laid  on  the  top  of  a surface  of  mortar.  The  front 
rooms  are  separated  from  the  two  large  rooms  in  the  rear  by  a fire-wall  that 
runs  through  the  roof-boards  to  the  slate,  and  the  openings  are  closed  with 
iron-clad  doors. 

The  walls  are  sandstone  from  the  La  Grange  quarry,  laid  in  rock-face 
rubble  courses.  The  whole  building  is  about  70  feet  square.  The  reading- 
room  is  64  by  40  feet  and  30  feet  in  height.  The  corner  rooms  in  the  front 
are  26  by  27  feet  and  14  feet  in  height.  The  rooms  on  the  first  floor  are  the 
same  size  and  14  feet  in  height.  On  the  third  floor  are  suites  of  rooms  for 
janitor  and  librarian  and  a large  center  room  for  work-room  for  library  and 
cabinet.  The  first  floor,  given  up  for  the  present  to  the  department  of 
Natural  History,  is  designed  to  be  occupied  with  books  as  the  need  arises. 

The  entire  building  thus  occupied  will  afford  shelf-room  for  175,000 
volumes. 


INTERIOR  VIEW. 

^Miiess  fiy  IJey.  ©fiaiilcs  X-  ?psaii. 

I rejoice,  Mr.  President  and  friends,  in  the  kind  providence  that  permits 
me,  after  so  long  an  absence,  again  to  walk  your  streets  and  receive  your 
cordial  greetings,  and  I am  especially  thankful  that  I may  share  to-day  in 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY. 


7 


your  joys  and  mutual  congratulations  over  this  completed  building.  Let  me 
add  the  further  personal  expression  of  my  gratification  that  the  finished 
work,  which  I am  most  happy  to  hear  you  call  “beautiful”  and  pronounce 
“ good,”  Seems  to  me,  who  saw  it  before  only  in  the  pencilled  drawings  of  the 
architect,  and  now  behold  it  for  the  first  time  in  its  fair  proportions  of  wall 
of  stone  and  beautiful  interior,  to  possess  a charm  of  excellence  and  adap- 
tation I did  not  quite  expect. 

The  building,  like  all  human  works  of  any  value,  is  a resultant  of  many 
diverse  forces.  God,  the  great  source  of  good,  is  its  Giver,  and  to  Him  be 
all  thanks  and  praise.  By  it,  and  all  that  Oberlin  is,  has  been,  and  will  be, 
whether  of  material  possessions  or  spiritual  and  most  beneficent  forces,  He 
answers  the  prayers  and  honors  the  faith  of  its  founders.  And  so  they, 
under  Him,  are  the  donors  of  the  College  and  of  this  added  building  to  the 
world. 

The  College  outgrows  its  accommodations.  The  property  of  a young 
ladies’  school  in  Massachusetts,  of  some  forty  years’  use,  is  no  longer 
needed  for  that  use,  and  its  Principal,  long  in  sympathy  with  the  struggles 
and  the  necessities  and  the  noble  work  of  the  young  colleges  of  the  West, 
desires  to  make  its  resources  available  for  their  use.  And  a providential 
acquaintance  with  the  special  need  of  this  College,  succeeding  a general 
previous  knowledge  of  its  worth  and  work,  leads,  in  the  summer  of  1884, 
to  the  immediate  appropriation  of  the  proposed  funds  to  the  erection  of  this 
building,  which  we  to-day  dedicate  to  its  future  use. 

And  what  may  we  hope  its  use  to  be  ? A beautiful  and  most  appropri- 
ate and  most  valuable  work  of  art  is  its  first  adornment,  and  by  the  favor 
of  its  generous  donor  and  the  forethought  of  the  committee,  stands  here  to 
grace  this  first  occasion,  a promise  of  its  pleasant  greetings  of  all  who  in 
future  decades  and  scores  of  years,  perhaps  centuries,  shall  come  hither. 
May  it  not  be  a promise  and  prophecy  of  many  another  work  of  art  that 
shall  gratify  the  eye  and  educate  the  taste  of  student  and  citizen  and  friend  ? 

A further  use  of  the  building  is  of  course  to  receive  the  libraries  that 
await  larger  and  better  accommodations.  Will  not  an  important  and  im- 
mediate benefit  and  use  of  these  ample  shelves  be  to  invite  large-hearted 
donors  to  add  to  the  book  treasures  already  accumulated  ? I hear  with 
much  gratification  that  such  a result  begins  already  to  be  realized.  And  I 
am  sure  that  the  Faculty,  students,  and  citizens  will  vie  with  each  other  in 
praiseworthy  and  persistent  endeavors  to  enlarge  the  library  and  so  increase 
its  value  and  usefulness.  May  the  time  not  be  far  distant  when  it  shall 
overrun  the  limits  now  proposed  for  it,  and  require  for  its  proper  storage 
and  use  the  entire  building.  Indulge  me  in  a little  reminiscence.  I had 
once  the  honor  to  be  the  President  of  a library  association,  and  in  process  of 


8 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY. 


time  I had  the  greater  honor  to  transfer  the  responsibility  of  my  office  to 
the  shoulders  of  a wealthy  and  large-hearted  financier  and  statesman  of 
national  fame,  who  gave  to  his  native  town  a beautiful  $50,000  building  into 
which  in  due  time  the  small  library  and  hardly  the  beginning  of  a museum 
were  removed.  And  now,  but  a few  years  later,  20,000  volumes  go  from 
its  shelves  in  most  active  circulation,  and  its  museum  and  well-provided 
reading-rooms  have  become  a most  interesting,  instructive,  and  constant 
resort.  And  recently  while  abroad  I executed,  with  the  aid  of  Professor 
Wright,  a commission  to  purchase  for  its  art  gallery  $1,200  worth  of  casts  of 
antique  statuary,  a good  portion  of  which  I found,  as  I passed  through  the 
place  last  week,  on  their  pedestals,  and  delighting  and  enriching  the 
numerous  frequenters  of  the  gallery.  So  sure,  and  much  more  sure,  from 
your  increasingly  wide  constituency,  in  bequests  and  donations,  will  these 
rooms,  above  and  below,  gather  treasures  for  the  College  and  the 
community. 

And  how  — this  suggests  the  topic,  and  I should  like  to  say  a word 
about  it  — how  should  the  library  be  used?  For  whom  is  its  wealth  of 
blessing  to  be  gathered  and  dispensed  ? Of  course,  to  the  College.  We 
spent  last  winter  a month  in  an  interesting  and  ancient  German  town  of 
50,000  people,  where  was  accumulated  in  a fine  old  castle-palace  a library 
of  750,000  volumes.  It  did  not  seem  to  do  very  much  good.  No  throng 
of  readers  and  book-takers  was  ever  there,  coming  and  going,  during  our 
visits,  to  its  well  furnished  office.  It  had  no  such  spirit  of  enterprise,  or 
convenient  and  accessible  catalogues  as  your  and  our  American  libraries 
generally  show  and  possess.  And  yet  it  was  a magnificent  reservoir,  from 
which  flowed  in  the  ever  open  channels  of  the  churches  and  the  schools, 
through  preacher  and  professor,  its  beneficent  streams.  Of  how  much 
greater  use  to  the  eager  student,  and  the  already  learned  Professor,  will  be 
the  smaller,  but  better  adapted  and  every  way  more  accessible  treasures  of 
literature  and  science  in  this  library! 

Shall  the  community  at  large  have  place  and  welcome  here?  I confess 
my  own  observation  elsewhere  gives  me  some  interest  in  this  question,  as  I 
suppose  it  is  a question,  here.  In  closest  harmony  and  sympathy,  as  the 
college  and  town  are,  to  a degree  nowhere  else  to  be  seen,  the  building  well 
located  for  a community  of  interest  and  use,  likely  to  receive  a double 
benefit,  in  the  greater  intelligence  and  sympathy  with  its  aims  and  work,  if 
the  town  may  make  the  freest  use  of  the  library,  and  sure  of  its  aid  in  its 
enlargement,  and  with  apparent  room  now  for  all,  why  should  not  the 
College  invite  the  town  to  a large  participation  of  its  benefits  ? Let  me 

again  refer  to  a little  experience.  The  use  of  the  public  library  I have 
mentioned  is  already  far  wider  and  more  beneficial  than  its  founders  ever 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY. 


9 


dreamed.  A single  good-sized  room  in  the  building  contains  the  reference 
library,  and  the  use  which  the  high-school  boys  and  girls  make  of  those 
encyclopedias  and  other  works  of  reference  is  a constant  gratification  and 
surprise  to  the  president,  who  declares  it  the  most  useful  of  all  the  depart- 
ments of  the  complex  institution.  I need  not  say,  in  this  presence,  how 
prominent  and  promising  a feature  of  our  new  methods  of  teaching  this  use 
of  books  by  young  students  is. 

Let  me  briefly  add,  in  closing,  one  further  thought,  that  to  my  mind 
enhances  the  value  and  glorifies  all  the  future  use  and  benefits  of  the  edifice. 
The  frequenters  of  this  library  who  in  steady  procession  are  to  ascend  these 
steps  and  throng  these  rooms,  to  pursue  investigations,  solve  doubts,  acquire 
general  information,  solace  care  by  pleasing  diversion,  or  ennoble  themselves 
by  quiet  communion  with  the  great  and  good  of  the  past,  will,  I am  per- 
suaded, go  to  their  life-work  in  the  pulpit  or  in  the  court-room,  the  dwelling 
of  the  sick  or  the  editorial  sanctum,  the  legislative  hall  or  the  more  private 
walks  of  life  — in  the  teeming  city  or  the  wide  prairie,  in  far  off  Africa  or  the 
isles  of  the  sea,  with  a broader  and  richer  equipment,  and,  may  we  not  hope, 
with  a more  quickened  spiritual  life  for  the  added  material  resources  this 
building  gives  to  Oberlin  College. 


statue  clj  “ IgEerfling  <^ir[l  ” 

Was  presented  by  Prof.  Albert  H.  Currier,  who  is  a relative  of  the  donor, 
and  has  been  for  many  years  a frequent  visitor  at  his  home.  He  spoke 
substantially  as  follows : 

Mr.  President,  my  Associates  in  the  Faculty , and  Students  of  Oberlin 
College : It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  present  to  the  College,  on  this  occa- 
sion, on  behalf  of  the  donor,  Mr.  Aaron  Healy,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  this 
statue  of  the  “ Reading  Girl.”  It  is  not  the  first  gift  of  Mr.  Healy  to  the 
College.  He  is  entitled  to  a place  among  our  benefactors  by  reason  of 
numerous  previous  donations  of  books  to  the  Reference  Library  of  the 
Theological  Seminary.  This  statue,  however,  is  by  far  his  most  important 
gift.  He  first  announced  his  purpose  to  bestow  it  upon  us  in  May  of  last 
year,  soon  after  Mr.  Spear  had  signified  his  intention  to  build  for  us  this 
library.  At  that  time  he  wrote  : “ I will  send  it  to  Oberlin,  because  I think  it 
the  best  place  I know  of  for  it,  and  where  it  will  be  appreciated,  and  a joy 
to  the  students  for  a long  time.”  When  informed  a few  weeks  since  that 
the  building  for  which  the  Reading  Girl  was  intended  was  nearly  finished 
and  to  be  dedicated  to-day,  he,  to  make  this  occasion  more  complete,  fulfilled 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY. 


IO 


his  promise  of  giving  it — by  boxing  it  up  and  sending  it  to  us — and  it  now 
•stands  before  us. 

It  had  stood  in  his  home  parlor  fourteen  years,  an  object  of  beauty 
around  which  his  family  life  revolved,  and  a daily  joy  through  all  that  time. 
Its  worth  as  a gift  from  Mr.  Healy  to  the  College  is  not  to  be  estimated  by 
its  money  value,  though  that  is  considerable ; we  must,  to  appreciate  it  as 
a token  of  regard,  think  of  it  as  among  the  heart-treasures  of  the  donor. 


THE  “READING  GIRL.” 


It  would  not  be  strange  if  he  and  his  children  felt  some  regret  at  parting 
with  it.  It  had  taken  on  a kind  of  personality  to  them  and  come  to  be 
regarded  as  a silent,  not  inanimate  inmate  of  their  home.  In  the  letter,  by 
which  he  informed  me  that  the  statue  had  started  on  its  journey  hither,  he 
says  : tl  It  has  given  us  all  much  enjoyment,  and  never  looked  more  beauti- 
ful to  us  than  when  she  was  leaving  the  house,  as  blessings  brighten  as  they 
take  their  flight.  But  we  find  our  compensation  in  the  thought  that  she 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY. 


I I 


will  be  a source  of  pleasure  to  many  more  admirers  than  she  could  have  in 
our  parlor.  I hope  she  will  prove  to  be  a lasting  blessing  to  all  concerned 
with  your  important  institution.’’ 

You  will  all  agree  with  me  in  the  opinion  that  nothing  could  be  more 
appropriate  for  the  adornment  of  this  particular  place.  We  need  only  to 
look  at  it  to  be  struck  with  its  singular  fitness  for  the  reading-room  of  the 
Library  building  of  the  College,  which  first  opened  its  doors  to  young 
women  seeking  the  higher  education. 

As  a work  of  art  it  may  be  said  also  to  embody  in  itself,  and  happily  to 
express,  the  thoughts  that  naturally  occur  in  this  place.  Perpetual  youth 
and  unfading  beauty  are  among  her  charms.  For  this  she  is  a symbol  of 
Wisdom,  whose  attractions  never  decay  to  those  whose  eyes  have  been 
opened  to  see  them.  Those  who  look  upon  her  face  to-day  will  grow  old 
and  pass  away,  but  she  will  not  change.  The  sweet,  thoughtful  seriousness 
that  we  observe  will  remain  to  stimulate  to  studiousness  future  generations 
of  students. 

j^ffcfllESS  By  Q-  ®itost. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen : — We  have  all  realized  during  these  past  months 
something  of  the  power  of  architecture.  Lectures  upon  this  subject  have 
been  delivered  here  for  many  years,  but  they  were  purely  theoretical,  as 
would  be  a lecture  here  upon  mountain  scenery,  or  the  constellations  of  the 
tropics.  Now,  however,  we  have  more  than  theory  or  photographs.  There 
is  scarcely  a boy  in  Oberlin  who  could  not  appreciate  Ruskin’s  noble  defini- 
tion of  this  noble  art  as  “that  which  so  disposes  and  adorns  the  edifices 
reared  by  man,  for  whatsoever  uses,  that  the  sight  of  them  may  contribute  to 
his  mental  health,  power  and  pleasure.” 

It  has  been  a pure  delight  like  that  afforded  by  poetry  and  music,  to 
watch  lintel  and  arch,  pillar  and  capital,  chimney  and  turret  rising  before 
our  eyes ; to  see  the  oak,  toughened  by  a thousand  storms,  and  the  iron 
beams,  fresh  from  Vulcan’s  smithy,  fitted  to  their  places ; and  at  last  to 
behold  the  finished  structure,  in  all  its  loveliness  of  form,  color  and  propor- 
tion, with  its  very  stones  smiling  into  flowers  — “a  thing  of  beauty  and  a 
joy  forever.” 

’Mid  such  surroundings  it  is  no  surprise,  no  incongruity,  to  find  that  one 
of  the  real  graces,  carved  from  the  pure  element  of  which  gods  were  made, 
has  taken  up  her  abode  here,  to  be  the  Genius  Loci , and  in  her  absorption 
in  her  book,  as  wrell  as  her  unconsciousness  of  admiring  eyes,  to  be  the 
model  for  all  our  reading  girls. 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY. 


12 


Dazed  by  this  luxury  of  architecture  and  of  art,  we  may,  for  the  time 
being,  forget  the  substantial  uses  of  the  building,  and  its  place  in  our 
college  work.  That  place  is  a central  one.  In  this  munificent  gift  all 
departments  are  sharers.  There  is  but  one  place  which  will  be  more 
familiar  to  every  student  than  this  room.  Yonder  is  the  Chapel  — the 
college  altar ; here  is  the  college  hearth. 

In  a great  library,  more  than  in  any  other  place,  we  realize  that  we  are 
the  heirs  of  all  the  ages.  Without  books  the  centuries  would  fall  apart, 
and  the  dying  past  could  make  no  will,  and  leave  no  legacy. 

When  the  alphabet  was  discovered,  the  race  could  have  a history,  a 
storehouse  of  accumulated  wisdom,  a library.  Then  came  the  age  of 
scribes,  with  styles,  and  quills,  and  parchment,  and  papyrus,  lovingly  and 
laboriously  copying  the  best  thoughts  of  one  generation  for  the  study  of 
the  next.  And  then  came  printing,  which  placed  a trumpet  in  the  mouth 
of  genius,  so  that  each  golden  word  might  be  reproduced,  echoed,  in  a 
thousand  volumes  scattered  over  the  world. 

By  these  inventions  we  are  enabled  to  build  here  a Pantheon  to  the 
genius  of  all  lands  and  ages.  Every  great  teacher,  every  high-priest  of 
learning,  every  leader  of  thought,  will  be  here,  not  in  a cold  dull  image, 
but  in  his  living,  breathing,  burning  words.  Westminster  Abbey,  Dumfries 
Kirkyard,  or  the  Catacombs,  may  hold  their  ashes,  and  their  bones,  but 
their  immortal  part — their  thoughts,  will  be  here. 

Nor  do  we  scorn  the  gifts  of  smaller  contributors  to  human  knowledge. 
These  shelves  are  the  comb  in  which  shall  be  stored  honey  gathered  by  ten 
thousand  anonymous  bees  from  all  the  fields  of  human  thought.  They  are 
of  every  language  and  tongue — a silent  Babel. 

Rivals  and  enemies  will  sit  here  side  by  side,  in  “ the  pure  democracy 
of  letters.”  Truth  and  Error,  in  true  Protestant  fashion,  will  be  left  to  the 
survival  of  the  fittest — Buckle,  Hume,  Paley,  and  Joseph  Cook,  Hodge 
and  Finney,  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra  and  the  Andover  Review. 

How  many  a pilgrim  to  Parnassus  will  in  this  room  catch  the  first 
glimpses  of  the  promised  land  before  him  ! How  many  a novice  in  letters 
will,  beneath  this  window  open  to  the  sky,  discover  for  the  first  time  that 
Horace  was  more  than  the  author  of  a college  text-book,  and  that  Milton 
and  Schiller  are  not  mere  titles  on  the  backs  of  books.  An  innumerable 
company  of  genial  friends  will  await  the  tired  school-boy  in  this  quiet 
retreat.  Here  will  be  Poole,  the  great  librarian,  to  refer  him  to  the  best 
magazine  articles  on  any  subject,  and  Allibone,  to  gossip  about  the  lives 
of  noted  people.  Here  will  be  the  great  specialists  in  every  branch  of 
learning  to  give  him  any  information  he  may  ask,  and  better  still,  the 
orators  and  essayists,  ready  to  lend  him  thoughts,  figures,  and  eloquence. 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY. 


3 


But  to  meet  these  ideals  we  must  have  something  more  than  shelves 
and  stained  windows ; we  must  have  the  books ; books,  till  no  department 
of  thought  is  unrepresented  ; books,  till  no  author  is  forgotten  ; books,  till 
no  inquirer  shall  be  turned  away  unsatisfied;  books,  till  students  from 
distant  places  shall  come  here  to  find  what  they  cannot  find  elsewhere  — 
books  of  all  descriptions,  from  the  ephemeral  pamphlet  which  is  supposed  to 
be  read  but  once,  up  to  the  learned  and  ponderous  tomes  which  are  never 
read  at  all ; quartos,  duodecimos,  octavos,  folios;  bindings  in  paper,  cloth, 
calf,  sheep,  and  morocco ; parchments,  illuminated  missals  and  editiones 
principes  from  the  dim  9th  and  15th  centuries,  as  well  as  the  swarming 
products  of  the  dazzling  nineteenth  ; books,  till  the  shelves  are  full ; books, 
till  the  stacks  are  full ; books,  till  the  dry  bones  and  other  representatives 
of  the  lower  orders  are  expelled  from  the  basement,  and  the  entire  build- 
ing, from  garret  to  cellar,  is  packed  with  the  accumulated  records  of  human 
thought.  What  enterprise  could  reinforce  every  department  like  this  ? 
What  other  feature  of  our  work  can  be  so  surely  and  speedily  brought 
to  commanding  eminence  ? And  what  gift  can  we  more  surely  anticipate  ? 

The  modern  library,  like  every  other  modern  institution,  is  the  result 
of  a process  of  evolution.  It  is  more  than  books  in  a building.  Ever  since 
Solomon’s  famous  aphorism  upon  the  making  of  many  books,  men  have 
wrestled  with  the  problem  of  classification  and  arrangement.  Yet  most 
libraries  are  sadly  defective.  The  vast  stores  of  the  Pontifical  library  of 
the  Vatican  have  no  catalogue.  One  may  stand  in  those  lordly  chambers 
and  be  sure  that  somewhere  within  a hundred  yards  of  him  lies  every  book 
that  has  ever  been  written,  save  those  of  the  Index  Expurgatorius,  and  yet 
be  helpless  and  hopeless  in  the  search.  A few  monks  who  have  spent 
their  lives  there,  poring 


“ Over  many  a quaint  and  curious  volume 
Of  forgotten  lore,” 

know  something  of  the  whereabouts  of  certain  classes  of  books.  But  when 
they  die,  their  knowledge  dies  with  them,  and  the  rare  volumes  are  left  to 
darkness  and  the  worms. 

Who  does  not  remember  Carlyle’s  feeling  lament  over  the  pamphlets  of 
the  British  Museum  ? “ There  are,”  he  says,  “ from  thirty  to  fifty  thousand 

pamphlets  of  the  civil  war ; huge  piles  of  mouldering  wreck.  They  have 
been  printed,  but  never  edited,  only  as  you  edit  wagon-loads  of  broken 
bricks,  simply  by  tumbling  up  the  wagon.  Their  sound  is  not  a voice  ; it 
is  a wide-spread,  inarticulate,  slumberous  mumblement,  issuing  from  the 
lake  of  eternal  sleep.” 

Many  systems  of  classification  have  only  succeeded  in  concealing  the 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY. 


14 


books,  placing  them,  with  perverse  ingenuity,  where  only  a philosopher 
would  think  of  placing  them,  and  where  no  other  man,  philosopher  or 
otherwise,  would  think  of  looking  for  them. 

Like  the  medieval  system  of  classification,  was  the  medieval  plan  of 
library  administration.  At  first  books  were  bound  in  iron  and  chained  to 
posts,  where  the  literary  public  might  come  and  read.  And  to  this  day  in 
many  libraries  the  student  can  see  only  one  book  at  a time,  which  is  passed 
out  to  him  by  an  attendant,  like  a captive’s  meal  through  prison  bars.  A 
young  man  in  a neighboring  institution  wrote  to  his  father  that  in  passing 
the  library  one  Sabbath  morning,  he  noticed  an  open  window,  crawled 
through  it,  and  oblivious  to  meals  and  services,  spent  one  whole  glorious 
day  among  the  books.  We  hope  our  students  may  spend  all  the  time 
they  choose  among  the  books  without  committing  burglary. 

Gradually  the  true  idea  has  dawned  upon  the  world.  Books  are  to  be 
read.  Libraries  are  to  facilitate  reading.  A book  unknown  or  inaccessible 
-is  a book  lost,  like  the  sage  Merwin, 

“ When  in  the  hollow  oak  he  lay  as  dead, 

And  lost  to  life  and  use  and  name  and  fame.” 

One  thousand  books  read  ten  times  are  equivalent  to  ten  thousand 
books  read  once.  The  librarian  is  not  to  be  a miser  hoarding  his  treasures, 
but  a merchant  pushing  his  wares  upon  the  market. 

The  card  catalogue  of  subjects,  alphabetical  and  classified,  and  of 
authors,  is  an  invention,  or  rather  a group  of  inventions,  destined  to  affect 
the  scholarship  of  the  world.  It  enables  the  seeker  after  knowledge  to 
find,  with  certainty  and  dispatch,  upon  the  vast  beach,  whatever  particular 
sand  grain  of  truth  he  is  after.  It  is  an  Ariadne’s  thread,  to  lead  him 
through  all  the  labyrinthian  paths  of  literature.  It  tells  the  uninitiated  at 
once  all  that  has  been  written,  rightly  or  wrongly,  upon  any  subject. 
Whether  you  seek  a sonnet  for  a love-letter,  or  a remedy  for  a burned 
finger,  the  card  catalogue  sends  you  to  the  proper  shelf.  Would  you  trace 
the  career  of  some  great  man  like  Webster?  The  catalogue  refers  you  to 
his  speeches,  his  biography,  his  letters  ; then  the  speeches  of  his  friends  and 
of  his  critics;  then  the  contemporary  press,  now  praising  and  now  censuring, 
and  giving  his  speeches  as  they  were  actually  delivered  — both  the  north- 
ern and  the  southern  editions  of  them ; and  at  last  to  the  account  of  his 
obsequies,  and  the  judgment  of  this  and  that  historian  upon  him.  In  this 
way  a full  library  and  catalogue  trace  every  subject  to  its  last  vein  and 
ramification,  and  make  all  human  thought  and  knowledge  available  to  the 
humblest  learner.  All  genius,  all  erudition,  is  placed  at  our  command. 
The  Humboldts,  the  Shakespeares,  the  Aristotles,  come  to  our  call  and 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY. 


soothe  our  chafed  moods  or  answer  our  questions  — he  that  is  the  greatest 
becomes  the  servant  of  all. 

The  library  is  a place  for  records  and  mementos,  where  the  Lares  and 
Penates  of  the  College  may  naturally  dwell.  Here  will  be  deposited  the 
Oberlin  Covenant,  President  Finney’s  manuscripts,  and  the  relics  of  the 
“big  tent  ” and  Tappan  Hall.  Here  we  shall  build  up  the  great  collection 
on  Slavery.  There  is  room  here  for  portraits,  and  for  busts. 

With  all  these  we  trust  the  spirit  of  ancient  Oberlin  may  enter  in  and 
dwell  here  — that  spirit  that  first  dwelt  in  the  log  cabins  and  the  hall  of 
slabs,  and  later  in  the  beams  of  old  Colonial  and  the  bricks  of  Tappan  — 
the  spirit  of  work,  the  spirit  of  prayer,  the  spirit  of  inquiry ; the  spirit  that 
sent  a missionary  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  with  no  resources  but  an  ear  of 
corn  in  his  pocket,  and  a rich  Father  in  Heaven  ; that  robust,  earnest, 
progressive  spirit  which  moves  the  world. 

Jn  all  the  appointments  of  this  structure  we  see  the  marks  of  per- 
manency. Arthur  Tappan  gave  the  College  in  its  infancy  an  influence  and 
a credit  which  assured  its  success ; but  his  funds  were  so  expended  that 
they  ceased  to  be  useful,  and  to-day  there  is  no  name  and  no  stone  in 
Oberlin  to  remind  us  of  the  merchant  philanthropist.  It  is  a neglect  that 
shames  us,  and  which  must  be  remedied.  The  architect,  the  builder,  and 
the  committee  have  wrought  more  wisely  here.  These  beautiful  stones 
may  stand  as  long  in  the  walls  of  Spear  Library  as  they  have  stood  in  the 
quarry.  They  are  part  of  the  eternal  hills.  They  witnessed  the  world’s 
creation,  and  they  may  see  its  dissolution.  The  constant  stars  will  gaze 
down,  nightly,  at  the  Reading  Girl,  when  all  other  readers,  of  this  and 
succeeding  generations,  have  passed  away. 

What  a monument  is  such  a building  in  this  changing  world ! Would 
any  man  build  for  the  future,  let  him  build  on  college  grounds.  Such  soil 
is  sacred.  Private  palaces  grow  antiquated  and  desolate,  warehouses  and 
factories  fall  to  decay,  structures  that  are  merely  monumental  are  disfigured 
by  time ; but  the  lamp  of  learning  burns  steadily  on  ; a wisely  planned 
college  building  meets  a permanent  need,  and  while  a college  may  grow  old 
it  can  never  grow  decrepit — the  fresh  sap  is  in  it ; it  is  not  merely  an  oak, 
it  is  a succession  of  oaks  which  will  continue  to  flourish  while  the  world 
stands. 

It  is  an  auspicious  day  for  the  University  when  she  enters  into  the 
possession  of  so  important  and  fit  a building  as  this.  This  day  marks  an 
epoch  in  the  life  of  every  student,  and  still  more  in  the  life  of  every  teacher. 
It  is  a happy  day  for  the  librarian.  It  is  a happy  day  for  him  whom  Provi- 
dence has  enabled  to  make  so  princely  a gift.  We  all  join  in  the  wish — 


6 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY. 


and  we  can  wish  him  nothing  better — that  he  may  truly  find  it  as  blessed 
to  give  as  it  is  to  receive. 

i[oii  liiEijciiiy. 

To  the  Friends  of  Oberlin  : 

The  College  Library  now  contains  13,000  books,  and  perhaps  3,000 
pamphlets.  The  books  of  the  Union  Library  Association,  6,400  volumes, 
and  the  Theological  Reference  Library,  2,000  volumes,  are  also  available 
to  a portion  of  our  students.  Many  of  these  books  are  obsolete,  and 
others  came  to  the  College  at  second  hand,  and  are  not  of  the  highest 
value.  Less  than  2,000  new  books  have  been  actually  selected  and  pur- 
chased by  the  Library  Committee  during  the  past  eleven  years.* 

The  lack  of  suitable  rooms,  and  the  urgency  of  other  needs,  have 
caused  this  great  interest  to  be  comparatively  neglected,  but  it  can  be  neg- 
lected no  longer. 

The  work  which  this  Institution  is  called  upon  to  do  cannot  be  per- 
formed without  far  greater  library  facilities.  Our  teachers  have  long  felt 
cramped  by  the  narrowness  of  our  resources  in  this  direction.  They  are 
circumscribed  by  this  lack  of  books,  both  in  their  own  studies  and  in  the 
range  of  their  instruction.  Our  professors  are  compelled  to  purchase  from 
their  own  means,  books  which  should  be  furnished  by  the  College,  and 
which  are  essential  to  their  success  in  teaching.  Not  a single  department 
is  adequately  equipped. 

Moreover,  the  advanced  education  of  the  present  day  requires  the 
teacher  more  and  more  to  bring  the  student  to  share  his  own  studies  and 
methods.  This  involves  far  greater  use  of  the  library.  Subjects  are 
assigned  to  the  student  for  original  investigation.  He  is  sent  to  the 
Library  to  consult  the  primary  authorities,  and  thus  becomes  accustomed  to 
independent  work.  We  expect  that  a very  large  proportion  of  our  students 
will  visit  the  Library  every  day. 

The  improvements  in  Library  administration  also  bring  this  department 
of  our  work  into  greater  prominence  and  importance. 


Volumes  in  College  Library. 

Average  Annual  Increase. 

Society  Libraries,  &c. 

Amherst  .... 

45,000 

2,000 

6,000 

Michigan  Univ.  . . 

44  A 3° 

2.313 

12,21  I 

Marietta,  (1882)  . . 

I7>3°° 

536 

12,700 

Williams  .... 

23,000 

1,000 

6,000 

10,000 

Yale 

124,000 

29,000 

DEDICATION  OF  THE  SPEAR  LIBRARY. 


n 


The  first  great  step  toward  meeting  these  pressing  needs  is  taken  by 
the  erection  through  the  appreciative  liberality  of  Mr.  Spear,  of  the  Library 
Building. 

We  now  confidently  appeal  to  the  former  students  and  friends  of  Ober- 
lin  for  donations,  to  enable  us  to  fill  a portion  of  this  building  with  the 
books  which  are  indispensable.  The  present  opportunity  to  put  our 
Library  into  better  condition  must  not  be  lost. 

No  part  of  our  work  is  in  greater  need  of  advancement ; none  can  be 
more  surely  and  rapidly  improved ; and  in  no  direction  will  gifts,  whether 
large  or  small,  produce  greater  results. 

Many  friends  of  the  Institution  can  never  render  financial  assistance 
unless  they  contribute  to  some  such  enterprise  as  this.  Is  there  a single 
friend  of  Oberlin  who  cannot  give  five  dollars  a year  for  five  years  ? Are 
there  not  many  who  will  gladly  give  fifty,  one  hundred,  or  one  thousand 
dollars  ? 

We  are  in  urgent  need  of  $25,000  to  be  expended  in  the  next  few  years 
in  cataloguing  and  enlarging  the  Library,  and  beyond  that  we  must  aim  to 
secure  a permanent  endowment. 

Our  friends  must  remember  that  while  the  buildings  recently  given 
increase  very  greatly  our  facilities  and  advantages,  they  do  not  help  to 
“make  ends  meet,”  but  are  the  occasion  of  increased  expenditure. 

The  smallest  gifts  will  be  appreciated,  and  in  every  instance  the  donor’s 
name  will  be  recorded  in  the  Treasurer’s  office. 

In  the  case  of  every  individual  contributing  five  hundred  dollars,  a 
special  label,  commemorating  the  donor,  shall  be  placed  in  each  book  pur- 
chased from  such  funds. 

In  the  case  of  every  individual  contributing  twenty-five  hundred  dollars, 
the  money  will  be  set  aside  as  endowment,  and  the  books  annually  pur- 
chased shall  commemorate  the  donor  in perpetuum. 

Subscriptions  may  be  made  payable  in  installments. 

Contributions  of  books,  especially  rare  books,  files  of  periodicals,  pam- 
phlets relating  to  Slavery,  or  otherwise  of  historical  interest,  medals,  coins, 
works  of  art,  etc.,  are  solicited. 

In  view  of  the  urgency  of  this  need,  and  encouraged  by  the  present 
opportunity,  we  have  requested  Professor  Frost  to  commit  his  regular  work 
to  others  for  the  winter  term,  and  go  into  the  field  to  lay  this  object  before 
the  friends  of  the  Institution. 

Jas.  H.  Fairchild,  President. 

J.  B.  T.  Marsh,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 


